Gastritis

2007-08-03T10:23:00.000-07:00

Gastritis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Classification & external resources
ICD-10
K 29.0-K29.7
ICD-9
535.0-535.5

Gastritis is inflammation of the gastric mucosa of the stomach. Depending on the cause, gastritis may persist acutely or chronically and may coincide with more serious conditions such as atrophy of the stomach.

Causes
The following are known causes and factors related to gastritis:

Bacterial infection (most often by Helicobacter pylori and other Helicobacter spp.)
Fungal infection (most often in people with immunodeficiency)
Parasitic infection (most often by Anisakis spp. from poorly cooked seafood)
Bile reflux
NSAIDs
Cigarette smoke
Autoimmune disorders
Excessive alcohol consumption
Excessive caffeine consumption
Certain allergens
Certain types of radiation
Steroid treatments for other conditions
Stomach injury
Stress

Symptoms
The following symptoms can be a result of gastritis or can be related to the underlying cause:

Upper abdominal pain or discomfort
Gastric hemorrhage
Hypochlorhydria
Appetite loss
Belching
Nausea
Vomiting
Fever
Lethargy

Diagnosis
In suspected cases, a doctor usually orders a barium meal test and gastroscopy to determine gastritis and related conditions such as peptic ulcers and gastric cancer. It is always important that the doctor reviews a patient's history regarding medications, alcohol intake, smoking, and other factors that can be associated with gastritis. In some cases, the appearance of the stomach lining seen during gastroscopy and the results of the barium meal test are reliable in determining gastritis and the cause. However, the most reliable method for determining gastritis is doing a biopsy during gastroscopy and checking for histological characteristics of gastritis and infection. For Helicobacter infection (the most common cause), one can test non-invasively with a ure breath test, stool antigen test, or blood antibody test.

If diarrhea is present also, the correct diagnosis may be not gastritis but rather gastroenteritis.

Treatment
Treatment for gastritis usually consists of removing the irritant or the infection. In cases of infection, a doctor will most often prescribe antimicrobial drugs. Helicobacter infection typically responds well to the triple therapy protocol (consisting of two antibiotics, and a proton pump inhibitor). Regimens that work well include PCA or PCM triple therapy (PPI, Clarithromycin, Amoxicillin) or (PPI, Clarithromycin, Metronidazole). Quadruple therapy has a >90% success rate and includes PPIs, Bismuth subsalicylates, Metronidazole, and Tetracycline.

See also
Stomach
Gastroenteritis People suffering from gastritis will benifit from a soft bland diet.
Infection

External links
A Very Descriptive Article on Gastritis
http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec09/ch121/ch121b.html
http://www.emedicine.com/emerg/topic820.htm
http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic852.htm
http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/9339/10796.html
ABC Salutaris: Gastritis

v • d • e Digestive system - Gastroenterology (primarily K20-K93, 530-579)
Esophagus
Esophagitis - GERD - Achalasia - Boerhaave syndrome - Nutcracker esophagus - Zenker's diverticulum - Mallory-Weiss syndrome - Barrett's esophagus
Stomach/duodenum
Peptic (gastric/duodenal) ulcer - Gastritis - Gastroenteritis - Duodenitis - Dyspepsia - Pyloric stenosis - Achlorhydria - Gastroparesis - Gastroptosis - Portal hypertensive gastropathy
Hernia
Inguinal (Indirect, Direct) - Femoral - Umbilical - Incisional - Diaphragmatic - Hiatus
Noninfectiveenteritis & colitis
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD, Crohn's disease, Ulcerative colitis) - noninfective gastroenteritis
Other intestinal
vascular (Abdominal angina, Mesenteric ischemia, Ischemic colitis, Angiodysplasia) - Ileus/Bowel obstruction (Intussusception, Volvulus) - Diverticulitis/Diverticulosis - Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)other functional intestinal disorders (Constipation, Diarrhea, Megacolon/Toxic megacolon, Proctalgia fugax) - Anal fissure/Anal fistula - Anal abscess - Rectal prolapse - Proctitis (Radiation proctitis)
Liver/hepatitis
Alcoholic liver disease - Liver failure (Acute liver failure) - Cirrhosis - PBC - NASH - Fatty liver - Peliosis hepatis - Portal hypertension - Hepatorenal syndrome
Accessorydigestive
Gallbladder (Gallstones, Choledocholithiasis, Cholecystitis, Cholesterolosis, Rokitansky-Aschoff sinuses)
Biliary tree (Cholangitis, Cholestasis/Mirizzi's syndrome, PSC, Biliary fistula, Ascending cholangitis)Pancreas (Acute pancreatitis, Chronic pancreatitis, Pancreatic pseudocyst, Hereditary pancreatitis)
Other/general
Appendicitis - Peritonitis (Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis)
Malabsorption (celiac, Tropical sprue, Blind loop syndrome, Whipple's)
postprocedural: Gastric dumping syndrome - Postcholecystectomy syndromebleeding: Hematemesis - Melena - Gastrointestinal bleeding (Upper, Lower)
See also congenital
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastritis"
Categories: Disease stubs Gastroenterology Inflammations Conditions diagnosed by stool test

For information on another disease, click on Digestive Diseases Library